Sneak Peek!

As many of you know (especially you oregonians) this weekend is Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Clackamas County fairgrounds in beautiful Canby, Oregon.

I have had the pleasure and fortunate to have spent time working with both Stevanie Pico and Deb Accuardi, who have formed a new company called Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. Stevanie is a very very talented dyer, who specializes in natural dying. She's like a sorceress with plant matter! There have been many times I've walked into her studio and been CONVINCED the yarn i'm looking at must have been dyed with acid dyes. She assures me no such deception has occurred and that her yarns are as natural as they are wonderful.

Together we created the pattern I'm previewing for you today.

Pattern: Peppermint Patrick - A Splendor Pattern by David Castillo

Yarn: Pico Accuardi Naturally Dyed Soft Touch in

"Sumptown Brown"

"Bleeding Heart"

"Thai Mango"

"Rodger's Midnight Dancing"

&

"Columbian Sunset"

Needles: US4 (i knit so insanely loose, don't even ask. you need at least an 8)

This pattern will soon be for sale through our blog and ravelry, but for now it's only going to be available at the Pico Accuardi Dyeworks booth at OFFF. Once the festival is over, we'll be posting it for sale here, so keep an eye out! And for you splendorfiends who live in Oregon and are planning to go to OFFF, stop by the booth, say hi, take a look at the pattern and tell them how much you love us! ;) Okay, i'm only being a little cheeky. but still.

Have a great festival, everyone!

Wild Thing!

"And now...let the wild rumpus start!" I don't think there's a more perfect way to introduce this (surprisingly highly-anticipated) pattern! It's been incredibly exciting to work on, and it's finally ready to share with everyone!

Pattern: Wild Thing (by me for Splendor Knitting), shown in size 44
Yarn: Universal Yarn Deluxe Chunky in "White Ash" & "Dark Oak" & GGH Lara in color 17
Needles: Addi Turbo Circular needles in sizes US7, US9, and US10.5

This seamlessly-knit hoodie is available in nineteen sizes, from infant to the largest Adult size with a 56" finished chest measurement, all in one PDF (download links at the bottom of this post). It's pretty much an expression of the kind of thing that can happen when my inner dork gets knitting needles and yarn in his hands. It's also an expression of me finding a way to share my love for knitting, despite my selfishness as a knitter.

When I saw the trailer for the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are movie, I was enthralled by the look of the Wild Things, the world they live in, and the feel of the movie in general. Not to mention my longtime big love for the song Wake Up by Arcade Fire (featured in the movie preview trailers). Seriously, that song has what I consider to be one of the best lyrics of all time: "...children, don't grow up/ our bodies get bigger, but our/ hearts get torn up". Is there a more poignant way to describe growing up?

But, I digress...I (and probably just about everyone within about 15 years of my age) grew up with Where the Wild Things Are as a part of my life. Whether you read it as the the story of a boy whose imagination gets the better of him, or the story of a boy who uses his imagination to make the best of things, a lot (a lot, a lot, a lot) of us count it as our favorite children's picture book. Naturally, the movie trailer made me realise it would be super awesome to have a Rumpus Suit of my very own.

At the core of things, I'm an ethical slacker. This isn't to say that I don't care about what I do, but that I don't believe in using more steps than are absolutely necessary. This is one of the many reasons I love working with seamless sweater construction, and that's what I've used for this hoodie. The body is knit flat and the arms are knit separately, but in the round, so that when it's all joined to knit the yoke (which continues up to the hood), there are as few seams as possible. In this hoodie, you really only have the underarms and the top of the hood to graft together. The ears and tail are knit separately, naturally, though they are still knit in the round.

I prefer knitting with animal fibers, so I used Universal Yarn's Deluxe Chunky (100% wool), but their Classic Chunky is a machine-washable alternative (for the smaller sizes, Universal Yarn Classic Worsted is a machine-washable alternative to the 100% wool Deluxe Worsted I have listed in the pattern). The best part is that all their yarns can be ordered right from their website! Seriously, I love mail-order. It's always best when I order several things, so when I go to pick it up at the post office, it's still a surprise to see exactly what came in!

It's true, "there is one in all of us"...some more than others.

This pattern is available as a FREE download from the Splendor Ravelry Store. If you're not a Ravelry member yet, you can also download the pattern for FREE right here on the Splendor Knitting Blog by clicking the button below:

All photography Copyright 2009 Santiago Felipe, used with permission.

EDIT: Visit TricotChico.blogspot.com for more knitting patterns by Homero Luna.